It's Thursday night, weeks before the start of training camp and several miles from Chargers Park. Philip Rivers is giving Antonio Gates all he can handle, pushing his competitive spirit to the limits. They've traded the football field for a table top and the pigskin for a small white plastic ball and the two do battle well into the night.

"After a couple of games of ping pong, he's dripping," Rivers said of Gates. "He hates to lose, and I'm the same way. He's as big a competitor as I've ever been around, and I think I'm the world's worst. We have a good time and get to know each other. The more you know about each other and the more you care about each other, it helps your team."</blockquote>
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